A case study of a 4-year-old perilingual deaf child implanted with an Ineraid multichannel cochlear implant

In August 1989, we implanted the first young (age 2-4) perilingual deaf child with the Ineraid multichannel cochlear implant. The child experienced sudden deafness at the age of 3 years 9 months. The time lapse between the onset of deafness and the implantation of the electrode array was only 4 months, but during that time the child completely stopped talking. Electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses were used for diagnosis and follow-up.